Golf club



B. MILLER GOLF CLUB April 11, 1950 Filed Nov. 8, 1946 frwenor. BePnardMiZ Zer' A' o rney Patented Apr. 11, 1950 i 'GOLF .CLUB W Bernard Miller,Seattle, Wash.

"Applieatzion'novmbef's, 1948, serial Nd. 708,711

. 1 My invention relates to improvements in a golf club and hasparticular 'application to improvement in a putter.l As is well known, apersonmay' be putting off line and not be conscious of it. One normallycompensates for the fact that the swing is not true by allowing orborrowing one way or another. This is frequently done over long periodsof time without knowledge, because it isl sometimes diicult to determinethat the putter blade is normal to the line of projected flight.l

Some efiort has been made to correct this difficulty byarranging a'telltale mark longitudinally of the upper edge of the blade parallel tothe face so that a longer and truer indication is observable than merelylookingat the top or face of the' putter blade. Other efforts have beenmade to make the head of the putter thick and arranging a telltale markat right angles with the plane of the face of the blade, and, also, itis common to provide two marks, one parallel to the face of the' bladeand the other normal thereto. The thickness of the blade is a limitingfactor and thus a line of insufi'icient length is provided to serve'as aprolongation of the line of flight normal to the face of the blade.

The object of myinvention is to provide a lateral fiange extendingrearwardly from the face of the blade, which fiange is approximately aslong as the longitudinaldimension of the putter blade. tending its fulllength, running fromfthe face of the blade to the trailing edge of saidflange. Saidtelltale mark lies at the middle and intersects the face ofthe putter blade at this point and with it forms a T so that the planeof the putter blade and the line of fiight may easily be indicated.,

A further objectof my invention is to provide; aputter having such afianged telltale' back and-- a conventional back for the putter, whichbacks' vcntionalback may be used. Said parts are pro' portioned and'arranged, both with regard -to weight and balance-- 'so that thereplacement 'off' the' practice back by theplaying or cont'entionalfback cannot be' detectedfb the swinging of the club or by the feelthereof.` This rrialne'sthepracl ticing device of greater value becausethe'swihg 'theffe'el'ofcan be v'checked withoutffidisturb the golfc1ub.-'

Sad'fiange'-carries a telltale mark ex-l seated one upon the other, theshaft of Further and other details of my invention are' hereinafterdescribed with reference to the-accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a putter headl illustrating the mannerin which the practicing device may be secured to the putter headportion;

said parts being shown alined but separated from' each other;

Fig. 2 is a similar perspective view of said parts said golf club beingshown fore'shortened;

fFig'. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken through the line 3-3 in Fig. 2,showing the manner in= whichv a spring-pressed, releasable detent' may'hold the removable and' the fixed portions of 'said' putter'headtogether; and

Fig. 4l is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing themanner in which aconventional back may replace the practice back When said parts arearranged in play.

A golf club embodying my invention comprises' a shaft I, to which issecured to a head portion 2' by the usual hosel 3. Said head portion maybe of any conventional shape. For the purpose of illustration, I haveshown a blade-type putter. Said head portion is relieved upon its upperedge' to define a rear shoulder 4 and a forward shoulder' 5. The centralor median portion 6 lying between them is narrower than the thickness ofsaid blade and i's shorter than the overall length of the putter blade.Extending vertically or transversely of said blade and across the backthereof is a" Vertical recess 1, the sides of 'which are tapered so asto provide a pair of dovetailed edges 8.' Extending transversely of thecentral portion 6 are a pair of spring-pressed' detents 9 whichnormally' extend beyond the rearward surface of the central portion for'the purpose of engaging and' holding either o'f'the two removableSections VIll' and Il. The' removable section ll] hasa'rearwardlyextendingiliplz formed thereon. Upon the upper surfacethereof is a telltale line 13 lying normal to the face of the headportion, which also coincides with the forward edge |2a of the lip |2.Said telltale line lies intermediate the ends of said lip` and at theportion 2.'

' Said rearWardIyeXtending'lip is s'ubstantiallyl as long'as'fthe'length of the putter blade. Thus`- said telltale line |3 forms aT'with' the'forward-I edge' of the lip 12;' and said 'telltaleline'would'lie upon thei line of fii'gl'it of t'he'ball if .the ballwere' struck by'the center of the face'of the head por-.1: tion 2,which' is'to'be des'ired; Said lip I'Z'lies'lat?` the'upper edge of theputtin'g'" face 2a". It'isV to middle of the face ofthe head:`

acoaesoe be noted that the shoulder at the forward side of the puttingblade is higher than the one at the lower side. This provides a greaterwidth for the face 2a of the head portion so as to assure the ball beingstruck by the head portion 2, rather than the forward edge |2a of therearwardly extending lip. Said lip has a forwardly extending flange Idand a rearwardly extending fiange |5 with relation to the plane of headportion 2, which are complementary to the shoulder portions 4 and' 5 ofthe head portion. Thus, as is shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, said flanges Mand IE fit closely within the shouldered portions 4 and 5 of the headand form therewith smooth, uninterrupted faces both forwardly andrearwardly of the putter blade.

ward extendlng lip has a dlsposition of mass and weight comparable tothat of the section I l, and

The'spring-pressed detents fit into apertures IiS in the adjacent faceof the rearwardly extending flange l5 and hold said parts together soaslto prevent any play or rattle. Said member IO also has a verticallyextending section Il, which is provided with tapered or dovetailedmarginal sides so that they will fit within and engage thecomplementarily formed edges 8 in the head portion 2.

Lying at the end of said section ll is a boss 18, which lies below thelower edge 2b of the head portion. Said boss preferably is roundedso asto slide easily over the ground, but extends a slight distance beyondsaid edge so that the removable back may easily be removed fromengagement by the detents by striking it on the ground or upon a hardsurface, which will force the member ID upwardly and' disengage thelatter from the head portion. That is to say, if the putter is arrangedwith the under surface lying upon the ground or upon a hard surface, theparts may be disengaged merely by exerting pressure on the shaft'or bystriking said boss I 8 upon the ground or upon said hard surface, whichwill force the member l' upwardly and the springpressed ball detents 9out of the apertures, respectively, in which said balls seat when theparts are in engagement. Said detents lie substantially equidistant fromand at oppositeV sides of the Vertical section ll and its recess 1 inthe head portion. Thus, there are three'points of contact: the twospring-pressed detents 9 and the engagement of the dovetailed edges.There is some give in the detents because said balls are urged intofrictional engagement with their recesses by coiled springs 9a seatedwithin recesses 9b in said head portion. Said resilient pressure tendsto prevent any play from occurring, as well as to prevent the physicaldisengagement of said parts.

When one wishes to use said putter to determine whether his swing istrue, the member IO is seated upon the head portion of the putter in themanner illustrated in Fig. 2. The lengths of the telltale mark or line43 'provide sufilcient visual indication to determine whether or not'the putter. is being swung so that it moves in a straight path in theline of the projected fiight of the golf ball. If the telltale marktends to move out of alinement or to be oscillated during theputtingswing, then the player hasvisually brought to his attentlonv that hisstroke is faulty and he thus can practice until his putting swing issmooth, even and theputting face is. alwaysat right'angles to theintended course of the. golf ball which is to'be struck by said face.

It probably would be undesirable to use said putter in actual play, andthus, ifV desired, said4 member Ill may be removed and a conventionalback portion H substituted therefor, as is illus'- trated in Fig. 4. Thesection IO with the rearthus a player could use either of said sectionsinterchangeably without feeling or sensing the difference. The changemay easily be made merely by applying pressure upon the boss |8, as hasbeen described, but said parts will never become loose as long as saiddetents engage their respective apertures. Also, there is littlelikelihood of inadvertent detachment of said parts. Because the sectionsIO and ll both straddle the upper edge of the end portion, the lattersupports the weight of said sections IO or II. The fact that the head ismade of two pieces is difiicult to discern excepting by looking at thetoe of the putter whereitheparting lines are apparent, as is shown inFig. 2. To maintain proper balance and weight, I' have found itdesirable to make the section ID and the rearwardly extending lip out ofsome light'weight metal such as an aluminum alloy, While the section II,to produce greater mass and compactness, preferably is made of someheavier metal such as brass, steel or iron. The Sections. andparticularly the inner-related parts, are made of 'substantial Sectionsand would thus not become easily damaged so that they wouldnot interflt.If the latter should occur, play might be produced and difiiculty ofseparation or seating the sections IO or ll upon the head portion 2.Some slght wear ortdistortion of said parts might be accommodatedbecause the resliency of the Springs 9a would take up some slight playor unequal engagement or bearing of the parts adjacent the inner-fittingsurfaces of the head and the sections Ill and ll.

In several views, I have added detent 9c which seats in a recess in thelower end' of the doVetailed slot at the middle of the verticallyextending connection l'l'. It is possible to provide three of thesedetents to eliminate play, but. normally either the pair of detentsshould be provided to force the back into tight engagement with thedovetailed slots, or the detent Sc should be used alone to shift saidVertical section I'l laterally in the dovetailed slot to produce thesame result. If they are used alternatively, it provides that one of thelegs of said three-point support will bind metal to metal in unyieldingabutment. If all three are utilized, it will force all of the opposedfaces of the butter blade and the removable back into abutment, and ifthey are not exactly plane and parallel, it might produce someunevenness, which is undesirable.

I claim:

1. A golf club, comprisinga shaft, a partial.

head secured to said shaft, an elongated striking face onsaid partialhead. a back section mounted removably'on said partia] head whereby toform a completed head, said back section having a lateral lipextendingrearwardly from said striking face, a marking on said lip arrangednormally to said striking face for indicating a line of fiight fromsaidstriking face, spaced flanges on said.

back section for engaging recesses n said partial head, and'detent meansresiliently lioining said,

partial head and onelof said fianges for holding said parts detachablytogether.

2. A golf club, comprisnga shaft, a partial headV securedto saidshaft,van elongated` striking faceon said partial head, the front and backfaces ofisaid partia] head being recessed longitudinally downward fromitsupper edge to form Shoulders separated by a central longtudinal ridgeportion, saidback'fece being recessed transversely between said shoulderand the bottom aoasoe edge of'said partial head, a back section mountedrem 1ably on said partial head whereby to form ajemfipieted head,saiurbaek section havmga I l? lip extending rearwardly from the upper' ege f said striking faice, a marking on said lip ged normally to :saidstriking face for inti'ng the line of flig'ht, from said striking face;

;dg'spaced fianges on'f'said back section resting` nr the spacedShoulders formed in said partial nding through th` transverse recessformed vhe back face of s`l d partial head, said procting portionextenci g slightly beyond the bttbin edge of said parti head. w; ashaft, a partial aft, an elongated striking ad, the front and back eadbeing recessed lon'giudinally downward, om its upper edge to forinhoulders separated-fby a central longitudinfal ridge portion, said backface being recessed trans- 1::,versely between said; shoulder and thebottl'in edge of said partial head, the sides of said t `verse recessdiverging'finwardly to form dovetailed edges, at least one lldetentextending resiliently from the recessed surface of said back falc'e','`Aa back section mounted removably on said partial 1 head whereby to forma completed head,`said f back section having-Ya lateral lip extendingrearwardly from the upper edge of said strikingff'ace,

-a marking on saidlilip for indicating the line of flight from saidstriking face, and spaced fianges on said back section resting upon thespaced shoulders formed in` said partial head, a projecting portion ofthe rearward flange having tapered sides extending through thetransverse :recess formed in the back face of said partial head;'saidrearward fiange having apertures therein-registering with said detentsfor securing the i-back section detachably to the partial head.

4. A golf club, comprising a shaft, a partial head secured to saidshaft, an elongated striking face on said partial head, the front andback faces of said partial head being recessed longitudinally downwardfrom its upper edge toform Shoulders separated by a central longitudinalridge portion, said back face being recessed transversely between saidshoulder and the .bottom edge of said partial head, a back sectionmounted ad, a projecting portion of the rearward flan'ge removably onsaid partial head thereby to form a completed head, said back sectionhaving a face overlying the unrecessed portion of the back face of saidpartial head, spaced fianges on said back section for engaging recessesin said partial head, and detent means joining said partial head and oneof said flanges for holding said parts detachably together.

5. A golf club, comprising a shaft, a partial head secured to saidshaft, an elongated striking face on said partial head, the front andback faces of said partial head being recessed longitudinally downwardfrom its upper edge to form Shoulders separated by a centrallongitudinal ridge portion, said back face being recessed transverselybetween said shoulder and the bottom edge of said partial head, thesides of said transverse recess diverging inwardly to form dovetailededges, at least one detent extending resiliently from the recessedsurface of said back face, a back section mounted removably on saidpartial head thereby to form a completed head, said back section havinga face overlying the recessed portion of the back face of said partialhead, and spaced fianges on said back section resting upon the spacedShoulders formed in said partial head, a projecting portion of therearward flange having tapered sides extending through the transverserecess formed in the back face of said partial head, said rearwardfiange having apertures therein registering with said detents forsecuring the back section detachably to the partial head.

BERNARD MILLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Da Le 837,030 Blanchard Nov. 27, 19061,173,384 Rees Feb. 29, 1916 1575364 Hodgkins Mar. 2, 1936 1,674,136Shidler June 19, 1928 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 12,026 GreatBritain 1900

